There is a whole host of support out there for social enterprises, but there’s nothing quite like Entrepreneurial Spark. It’s the world’s largest ‘business accelerator’, supporting organisations to achieve their goals with the help of a six month programme which aims to offer specialist assistance to individuals who want to start or expand their businesses. They want to make businesses “credible, backable and investable”, and the results speak for themselves. That is to say, since it began in 2012, 88% of the businesses it has worked with are still trading to this day.

It doesn’t work exclusively with social enterprises and Lucy-Rose Walker, Chief Entrepreneurial Officer, explains why in this interview. Entrepreneurial Spark operates as a social enterprise, receiving funding from private and public entities. Indeed, its list of partners is impressive, but that’s not the whole story, and Lucy-Rose Walker expands on this during our chat.

Entrepreneurial Spark has a number of locations across the UK. It uses a free proprietary entrepreneurial development programme that takes its entrepreneurs through a ‘cognitive and action centred development process’. The programme lasts for six months, but it can be continued for a further 12 if there is still scope for assistance and acceleration.

Its focus is very much on the individual behind the business, nurturing and developing the attitudes, behaviours and mind-set that enables businesses to grow.

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Podcast developer at Kibble. You’ll usually find me online tweeting about social enterprise, child and youth care or third sector issues, in the office huddled over a microphone, or at home listening to Prince. Always ask questions, learn new things and be positive.